Submission #3269: CoolKirby, NitroGenesis & jlun2's GBC SpongeBob SquarePants: Legend of the Lost Spatula in 06:02.37

"I better call the doctor, 'cause I got SPRING fever!" -SpongeBob, "SpongeBob SquarePants"

Here is our SpongeBob: Legend of the Lost Spatula improvement. It beats jlun2's published run by 4764 frames (79.4 seconds) thanks to a new route and a great new glitch.

The project started when NitroGenesis discovered the jumping glitch and used it to save lots of time, especially in the levels The Carnival and Dutch Under. He submitted his improvement, but cancelled it after he found that glitch-jumping out of the cave saved time. NitroGenesis submitted a new TAS with his improvements, but soon after, jlun2 submitted an even faster movie. However, not 2 minutes after jlun2 submitted his run, NitroGenesis announced that he would improve it. A few days later, NitroGenesis posted that he needed a break from TASing this game so much. Samsara suggested that NitroGenesis, jlun2, and CoolKirby could work together on a "tightly optimized improvement", and so we started working on it. Early in the planning, CoolKirby suggested a route change, and it was proven faster and incorporated into the run.

The new route alone saves 237 frames (3.95 seconds) over jlun2's previous submission, and all levels except Jellyfish Fields and Sandy's Park (1st time through) are faster than jlun2's submission.

When an item you are using has spawned an object (ex: bubble wand spawns a bubble), as long as that object is onscreen, you can hold B and autofire A to make SpongeBob jump very high. When SpongeBob has the spring shoes equipped, performing the jumping glitch will allow SpongeBob to jump infinitely (until he hits something).

If we went the route the programmers intended, we would have jumped to the top of the level and grabbed an anchor to send us plummeting through the goo to the treasure chest. This glitch lets you skip all of that by jumping off of the goo where the anchor normally would fall and then immediately pressing A, sending you down through the goo as if you were on the anchor and allowing you to land right next to the treasure chest.

Moving platforms and enemies can be manipulated by jumping at a different height.

Doing an action that does not relate to jumping or walking (ex: throwing a patty, blowing a bubble) can be used to avoid taking damage.

By walking for about 9 frames before jumping with the spring shoes equipped, SpongeBob will "slide", helping him move horizontally in long, flat levels (like Undersea Desert).

Pressing A on certain frames in midair will make SpongeBob slow his speed and land earlier. This saves time when jumping vertically in Kelpazoic Jungle and The Carnival.

I'm very satisfied with how this improvement turned out. Every movement finally looks optimized. The three of us worked hard on this; actually, two of us (jlun2 and I) had our computers die and two of us (NitroGenesis and I) went on vacation, but we were all determined to finish this run. It was great fun working with jlun2 and NitroGenesis. NitroGenesis can finish a level really quickly and jlun2 is fantastic at optimizing this game. This is as optimized as we can make it, and now I know my favorite portable childhood game can be finished in just over 6 minutes!

Sup bros! I like to TAS this game because it's so simple. It always looks really nice to look at, and the boss fights are always entertaining because you can't constantly hit them, so SpongeBob can jump around and stuff. I was toying around with this game when I discovered how to basically fly. I recorded a test WIP that beat the published run by roughly 2 seconds, and eventually completed the run and submitted. jlun2 then created several improvements to my run, but then Samsara suggested we all join up. It was a great idea and lots of fun. It was fun to work with CoolKirby and jlun2. I hope you like the run.

4401, 14303

Enjoy the run!

klmz: Accepted as an improvement to the published movie.

Brandon: Publication underway.